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One of the principal advantages of affordance-based design is that Gibson's theory of affordances is a relational theory, akin to other relational approaches such as relational biology and relational computer science. The relationships between artifacts and their designers and users are of such primary importance that only a theory that is able to...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... for illustration purposes than the structure of a human user. Engineering science already dictates necessary conditions for two gears to transmit power effectively. For two spur gears, they must be placed in the same plane; they must have com- patible teeth profiles; and their spacing must be such that their two pitch circles are tangential (see Fig. 3). Thus, the algorithm for checking the characteristic function for gear turnability merely needs to check these three conditions. This would be easy enough to implement in a conventional computer-assisted design solid modeling environment. (It is interesting that the software I use and teach is not yet this smart. It will happily ani- ...
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Citations
... An interesting result from applying Peirce's logic to affordances is the ability to consider the computability of affordances (just as we can consider the computability of other relations) by attempting to write an algorithm to determine the quality of that affordance (see Maier, 2015). ...
The concept of affordances is being increasingly used in fields beyond ecological psychology to reveal previously unexplored interdisciplinary relationships. These fields include engineering, robotics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, urban theory, architecture, computer science, and much more. As the concept is adapted for its relational meaning between an agent and the environment, or object, the meaning of the term has changed to fit the customs of the adapting field. This book maps the different shades of the term and brings insights into how it is operationalized by providing short accessible essays regardless of background. Each contribution addresses big questions around this topic such as the application of the concept on ongoing research, how to measure or identify affordances, as well as other reflective questions about the future of affordances in the field.
The book is envisioned to be read by non-experts, students, and researchers from several disciplines, and fills the need for summarization across disciplines. As the many adaptations flourished from the same psychological concept, this book also aims to function as a catalyst and motivation for reinterpreting the concepts for new directions. Compared to existing books, this book aims not to span the vertical dimension of field by taking a deep dive into a niche-field—instead, this book aims to have a wide horizontal span highlighting a common concept shared by an increasing number of fields, namely affordances. As such, this book takes a different approach by attempting to summarize the different emerging applications and definitions of the concept, and make them accessible to non-experts, students, and researchers regardless of background and level.
... An interesting result from applying Peirce's logic to affordances is the ability to consider the computability of affordances (just as we can consider the computability of other relations) by attempting to write an algorithm to determine the quality of that affordance (see Maier, 2015). ...
In this essay, we investigate human relationships to Land that are implied by the notion of affordances. Some expressions can be read as supporting a logic of extraction: affordances are aspects of the environment, lying ready to be used, without any responsibility for care or reciprocation from the user of the affordance. Thinking with Indigenous philosophies and creation stories, we explore the possibility of grounding affordances in an alternative logic: the logic of the gift. The offerings of the environment, of which humans are a part, need to be reciprocated by practices of care and gratitude: only when Land is cared for and protected will it continue to offer its affordances.KeywordsAffordanceIndigenous philosophiesSolicitationLogic of the giftRelationality
... This information is processed by reasoning and decision-making to determine actions to be carried out on the interfaces. These actions could change the features and behaviour of the interface, communicating feedback, status or/and attention to the user, ready to be perceived again for subsequent actions (Maier, 2015). An interaction comprises of several such perception action loops. ...
Background
Mixed Reality Technologies (MRTs) spanning the physical‐virtual continuum offer possibilities for machine‐based prompting to support people with dementia. The effectiveness of MRTs requires users to experience ‘presence’ – the feeling of being there and the illusion of non‐ mediation by the technology ‐ which has not been explored in dementia.
Method
Participants with mild to moderate dementia aged between 63‐90 years of age played games on two MRTs: Tangram on Osmo (Augmented Virtuality) and Young Conker on Hololens (Augmented Reality) in separate sessions to explore their experience of presence and look at their responses to prompts in the games. The sessions were video‐recorded for analysis with Noldus Observer XT 14.1 to identify themes relating to presence and responses to prompts.
Result
Three themes relating to the experience of presence were identified: 1. Affordances and perceptual elements, 2. Degree of realism and 3. Social element. Participants responded differently to visual and verbal prompts in the games.
Conclusion
People with dementia experience presence in MRTs that is mediated by the clues in the visual auditory and material properties of the physical and virtual elements of the games. These findings have design implications for future development of MRTs to support people with dementia.
... This information is processed by reasoning and decision-making to determine actions to be carried out on the interfaces. These actions could change the features and behaviour of the interface, communicating feedback, status or/and attention to the user, ready to be perceived again for subsequent actions (Maier, 2015). An interaction comprises of several such perception action loops. ...
Emerging technologies such as Mixed Reality Technologies (MRTs) could offer
possibilities to support People with Dementia (PWD). This study examined interactions
of PWD with two MRTs - HoloLens and Osmo. Ten participants (MoCA = 18 to 23, Age=
63 to 88 years) played a game of Tangram on Osmo. Six of these participants played
Young Conker on HoloLens. The study found that PWD used gestural actions in the
physical world more correctly than speech. Audio prompts in human voice were more
correctly perceived than visual prompts. Physical affordances, embodied actions and
familiarity to verbal instructions contribute to this success. Visual prompts such as text
present promising opportunities to complement with audio prompts. Interaction with
MRTs require prompts to direct PWD towards physical or virtual worlds. The research
outcomes are significant as the focus on interactions of PWD could open up avenues
for further research on actions and perceptions with emerging technologies.
Twenty years after first applying the concept of affordance to engineering design, here we reflect on the history of how the concept of affordance from perceptual psychology came to be applied to design, not only of man-made things but of natural phenomena as well, from the universe as a whole to why a dog walks differently from a person. An important controversy over the years has also been the need for a precise definition of affordance. After considering why a mathematical definition is unsuitable, a proper definition is proposed: an affordance is a relationship between two (or more) interacting systems that describes a potential behavior that neither system can exhibit alone. Several examples are given, with three different naming conventions discussed and several tantalizing open issues that deserve attention in the future.
